JP6874043B2 - Methods and equipment for multi-user uplinks - Google Patents

Description

Some aspects of the disclosure relate generally to wireless communication, and more specifically to methods and devices for multiple user uplink communication in wireless networks.

[0002] In many telecommunications systems, communication networks are used to exchange messages between several interactive, spatially isolated devices. Networks can be categorized according to geographic extent, which can be, for example, a metropolitan area, a local area, or a personal area. Such networks may be referred to as wide area networks (WANs), metropolitan area networks (MANs), local area networks (LANs), or personal area networks (PANs), respectively. Networks also use switching / routing techniques (eg, circuit-switched vs. packet-switched) to interconnect various network nodes and devices, and the type of physical medium used for transmission (eg, wired-to-wireless). ), And the set of communication protocols used (eg, Internet Protocol Suite, SONET (Synchronous Optical Networking), Ethernet®, etc.).

[0003] Wireless networks are often suitable when the network elements are mobile and therefore require dynamic connectivity, or when the network architecture is formed in an ad hoc topology rather than a fixed topology. .. Wireless networks use intangible physical media in non-inductive propagation modes that use electromagnetic waves in frequency bands such as radio, microwave, infrared, and light. Wireless networks, in an advantageous way, facilitate user mobility and rapid field deployment compared to fixed wired networks.

[0004] To address the problem of increasing bandwidth requirements for wireless communication systems, multiple user terminals share channel resources with a single access point while achieving high data throughput. Various methods have been developed to enable communication. When communication resources are limited, it is desirable to reduce the amount of traffic passing between the access point and multiple terminals. For example, when multiple terminals send uplink communications to an access point, it is desirable to minimize the amount of traffic to complete all outgoing uplinks. Therefore, an improved protocol for uplink transmission from multiple terminals is needed.

[0005] The various implementations of the system, method, and device within the appended claims each have several embodiments, any single embodiment of which alone is described herein. Does not carry the desired attributes described in the book. Some salient features are described herein without limiting the scope of the appended claims.

[0006] Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described herein are described in the accompanying drawings and in the following description. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. Note that the relative dimensions of the drawings below may not be drawn to scale.

[0007] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a method of wireless communication. The method comprises transmitting a clear to transmit (CTX) message to two or more stations, the CTX message indicating an uplink transmission opportunity, and the CTX message further comprising the two or more. It has a requirement that the station simultaneously transmit uplink data at a specific time. The method further comprises receiving multiple uplink data transmissions from at least two stations at that particular time.

[0008] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a device for wireless communication. The device comprises a transmitter configured to transmit a clear-to-transmit (CTX) message to two or more stations, the CTX message indicating an uplink transmission opportunity, and the CTX message further comprising said 2. It comprises a requirement that one or more stations transmit uplink data simultaneously at a specific time. The device further comprises a receiver configured to receive multiple uplink data transmissions from at least two stations at that particular time.

[0009] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a device for wireless communication. The device comprises means for transmitting a clear-to-transmit (CTX) message to two or more stations, the CTX message indicating an uplink transmission opportunity, and the CTX message further comprising the two or more. It comprises a requirement that the station simultaneously transmit uplink data at a specific time. The device further comprises means for receiving multiple uplink data transmissions from at least two stations at that particular time.

[0010] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a non-transitory computer-readable medium. When executed, the medium comprises an instruction that causes the processor to execute a method of transmitting a clear-to-transmit (CTX) message to two or more stations, the CTX message indicating an uplink transmission opportunity and the CTX. The message further comprises a requirement that the two or more stations simultaneously transmit uplink data at a particular time. The medium further comprises an instruction that, when executed, causes the processor to perform a method of receiving multiple uplink data transmissions from at least two stations at that particular time.

The figure which shows the multiple access multi-input multi-output (MIMO) system with an access point and a user terminal. The block diagram of the access point 110 and two user terminals 120m and 120x in the MIMO system. The figure which shows various components which can be utilized in the wireless device which can be used in a wireless communication system. An exemplary frame exchange time diagram for uplink (UL) MU-MIMO communication. An exemplary frame exchange time diagram for uplink (UL) MU-MIMO communication. Another exemplary frame exchange time diagram for UL-MU-MIMO communication. Another exemplary frame exchange time diagram for UL-MU-MIMO communication. Another exemplary frame exchange time diagram for UL-MU-MIMO communication. The message timing diagram of one embodiment of the uplink communication of many users. The figure of one Embodiment of the request to transmit (RTX) frame. FIG. 5 is a diagram of an embodiment of a clear-to-transmit (CTX) frame. FIG. 5 of another embodiment of the CTX frame. FIG. 5 of another embodiment of the CTX frame. FIG. 5 of another embodiment of the CTX frame. A flowchart of an exemplary method for providing wireless communication.

[0026] Various aspects of the new system, device, and method are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the teaching disclosure can be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to any particular structure or function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided to make this disclosure thorough and complete and to fully convey the scope of this disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings of this specification, the scope of the present disclosure, whether implemented independently of any other aspect of the invention or combined with any other aspect of the invention, is described herein. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that it is intended to embrace any aspect of the novel system, device, and method disclosed in the document. For example, the device may be implemented or the method may be practiced using any number of aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the invention is a device that is practiced in addition to or in addition to the various aspects of the invention described herein, using other structures, functions, or structures and functions. Or intended to include methods. It should be understood that all aspects disclosed herein can be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

[0027] Although specific embodiments are described herein, numerous modifications and substitutions of these embodiments are within the scope of the present disclosure. Although some benefits and benefits of preferred embodiments are mentioned, the scope of this disclosure is not intended to be limited to a particular benefit, use, or purpose. Rather, the embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to be broadly applicable to different wireless technologies, system configurations, networks, and transmission protocols, some of which are illustrated in the drawings and the following description of preferred embodiments by way of example. Has been done. The detailed description and drawings are not limited, but merely examples of the present disclosure, and the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0028] Wireless network technology may include various types of wireless local area networks (WLANs). WLANs can be used to interconnect adjacent devices together using widely used networking protocols. The various aspects described herein may apply to any communication standard, such as WiFi®, or more generally any member of the IEEE 802.11 group of wireless protocols.

[0029] In some embodiments, the wireless signal is orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) communication, a combination of OFDM communication and DSSS communication, or other methods. Can be transmitted according to the high efficiency 802.11 protocol. Implementations of the high efficiency 802.11 protocol can be used for Internet access, sensors, meter reading, smart grid networks, or other wireless applications. Advantageously, some device aspects that implement this particular wireless protocol may consume less power than devices that implement other wireless protocols and are used to transmit wireless signals over short distances. And / or it may be possible to send a signal with a lower probability of being blocked by an object such as a person.

[0030] In some implementations, the WLAN includes various devices that are components that access the wireless network. For example, there can be two types of devices: access points (“AP”) and clients (also called stations or “STA”). In general, the AP acts as a WLAN hub or base station and the STA acts as a WLAN user. For example, the STA can be a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, and the like. In one example, the STA connects to an AP via a WiFi (eg, an 802.11 protocol such as 802.11 ah) compliant wireless link to gain general connectivity to the Internet or other wide area networks. Connecting. In some implementations, the STA may also be used as an AP.

The techniques described herein can be used in a variety of broadband wireless communication systems, including communication systems based on orthogonal multiplexing schemes. Examples of such communication systems include space division multiple access (SDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and the like. .. The SDMA system may utilize sufficiently different directions to simultaneously transmit data belonging to multiple user terminals. The TDMA system can allow multiple user terminals to share the same frequency channel by dividing the transmission signal into different time slots, each time slot being assigned to a different user terminal. The TDMA system may implement GSM® or any other standard known in the art. The OFDMA system utilizes orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), which is a modulation technique that divides the entire system bandwidth into multiple orthogonal subcarriers. These subcarriers can also be called tones, bins, etc. In OFDM, each subcarrier can be modulated independently of the data. The OFDM system may implement 802.11 or any other standard known in the art. The SC-FDMA system transmits interleaved FDMA (IFDMA) for transmission on subcarriers distributed over the system bandwidth, and localized FDMA (LFDMA) for transmission on blocks of adjacent subcarriers. FDMA) or enhanced FDMA (EFDMA) can be used to transmit on multiple blocks of adjacent subcarriers. Generally, the modulation symbol is sent in the frequency domain in OFDM and in the time domain in SC-FDMA. The SC-FDMA system may implement 3GPP®-LTE® (3rd Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution) or other standards.

The teachings herein can be incorporated into various wired or wireless devices (eg, nodes) (eg, implemented within or performed by the device). In some embodiments, the wireless node implemented according to the teachings herein may include an access point or access terminal.

[0033] The access point (“AP”) is a NodeB, wireless network controller (“RNC”), eNodeB, base station controller (“BSC”), base station device (“BTS”), base station (“BS”). , Transmitter function (“TF”), wireless router, wireless transmitter / receiver, basic service set (“BSS”), extended service set (“ESS”), wireless base station (“RBS”), or any other term. It may be equipped, implemented as one of them, or known as one of them.

[0034] The station "STA" is an access terminal ("AT"), a subscriber station, a subscriber unit, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a user terminal, a user agent, a user device, a user device, or some other. It may have terms, be implemented as one of them, or be known as one of them. In some embodiments, the access terminal is a mobile phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol ("SIP") phone, a wireless local loop ("WLL") station, a personal digital assistant ("PDA"), It may have a handheld device with wireless connectivity, or any other suitable processing device connected to a wireless modem. Thus, one or more aspects taught herein are telephones (eg, mobile phones or smartphones), computers (eg, laptops), portable communication devices, headsets, portable computing devices (eg, mobile phones). Information terminals), entertainment devices (eg, music or video devices or satellite radios), game devices or game systems, global positioning system devices, or any other suitable configured to communicate via wireless media. Can be incorporated into various devices.

[0035] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a multiple access multi-input multi-output (MIMO) system 100 with an access point and a user terminal. For simplicity, FIG. 1 shows only one access point 110. An access point is generally a fixed station that communicates with a user terminal and is sometimes referred to as a base station or using some other term. The user terminal or STA may be fixed or mobile, may be referred to as a mobile station or wireless device, or may be referred to using some other term. The access point 110 may communicate with one or more user terminals 120 on the downlink and uplink at a given moment. A downlink (ie, forward link) is a communication link from the access point to the user terminal, and an uplink (ie, reverse link) is a communication link from the user terminal to the access point. A user terminal may also communicate peer-to-peer with another user terminal. The system controller 130 binds to the access point and adjusts and controls the access point.

[0036] The following disclosure section describes a user terminal 120 capable of communicating via a spatial access method (SDMA), but in some embodiments the user terminal 120 does not support SDMA. The user terminal may also be included. Therefore, in such an embodiment, the AP 110 may be configured to communicate with both SDMA user terminals and non-SDMA user terminals. This technique conveniently allows older versions of user terminals (“legacy” stations) that do not support SDMA to remain deployed in the enterprise, while allowing newer SDMA user terminals to be introduced as appropriate. It is possible to be able to extend their useful life.

[0037] System 100 uses a plurality of transmitting antennas and a plurality of receiving antennas for data transmission on the downlink and the uplink. The access point 110 is _{equipped with N ap} antennas and represents multiple inputs (MI) for downlink transmission and multiple outputs (MO: multiple output) for uplink transmission. The set of K selected user terminals 120 collectively represents multiple outputs in downlink transmission and collectively represents multiple inputs in uplink transmission. In pure SDMA, it is desirable that _Nap ≤ K ≤ 1 if the data symbol stream for K user terminals is not multiplexed by code, frequency or time by any means. K may be greater than _Nap if the data symbol stream can be multiplexed using TDMA techniques, different code channels with CDMA, independent sets of subbands with OFDM, and so on. Each selected user terminal may send user-specific data to and / or receive user-specific data from the access point. In general, each selected user terminal may be equipped with one or more antennas (ie, _Nut ≥ 1). Κ selected user terminals may have the same number of antennas, or one or more user terminals may have different numbers of antennas.

[0038] The SDMA system 100 may be a Time Division Duplex (TDD) system or a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system. For TDD systems, downlinks and uplinks share the same frequency band. For FDD systems, downlinks and uplinks use different frequency bands. MIMO system 100 may also utilize a single carrier or multiple carriers for transmission. Each user terminal may be equipped with a single antenna (eg, to keep costs down), or may be equipped with multiple antennas (eg, if additional costs can be supported). The system 100 can also be a TDMA system if the user terminals 120 share the same frequency channel by dividing the transmission / reception into different time slots and each time slot can be assigned to a different user terminal 120.

[0039] FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the access point 110 and the two user terminals 120m and 120x in the MIMO system 100. The access point 110 is _{equipped with N t} antennas 224a to 224ap. The user terminal 120m is equipped with N _{ut, m} antennas 252 _ma ~252 _mu, user terminal 120x is equipped with N _{ut, x} antennas 252 _xa ~252 _xu. The access point 110 is a sending entity on the downlink and a receiving entity on the uplink. The user terminal 120 is a transmitting entity on the uplink and a receiving entity on the downlink. As used herein, a "sending entity" is a stand-alone device or device capable of transmitting data over a wireless channel, and a "receiving entity" receives data over a wireless channel. An independently operating device or device that can be used. In the following description, the subscript "dn" indicates a downlink, the subscript "up" indicates an uplink, and N _up user terminals are selected for simultaneous transmission on the uplink, N. _dn user terminals are selected for simultaneous transmission on the downlink. N _up may or may not be equal to _{N dn , and N up} and N _dn may be static values or may vary from scheduling interval to scheduling interval. Beam steering or some other spatial processing technique may be used at the access point 110 and / or the user terminal 120.

On the uplink, at each user terminal 120 selected for uplink transmission, the TX data processor 288 receives traffic data from the data source 286 and control data from the controller 280. The TX data processor 288 processes (eg, encodes, interleaves, and modulates) traffic data for the user terminal based on the coding and modulation scheme associated with the rate selected for the user terminal. Give a symbol stream. TX spatial processor 290 performs spatial processing on the data symbol stream and provides N _ut, N _ut for _{m antennas,} the _m transmit symbol streams. Each transmitter unit (TMTR) 254 receives and processes its respective transmit symbol stream to generate an uplink signal (eg, convert it to analog, amplify it, filter it, and upconvert its frequency). N _{ut, m} transmitter units 254, for transmission from N _{ut, m} antennas 252, for example, to transmit to the access point 110, N _ut, give _m uplink signals.

_{[0041] N up} user terminals may be scheduled for simultaneous transmission on the uplink. Each of these user terminals may perform spatial processing on its respective data symbol stream and transmit its respective set of transmit symbol streams over the uplink to the access point 110.

[0042] At the access point 110, the N _up antennas 224a to 224 _ap receive uplink signals from _{all N up} user terminals transmitting on the uplink. Each antenna 224 feeds the received signal to its respective receiver unit (RCVR) 222. Each receiver unit 222 executes a process that supplements the process executed by the transmitter unit 254 and gives a received symbol stream. RX spatial processor 240 performs receiver spatial processing on N _{Stay up-received} symbol streams from N _{Stay up-receiver} units 222 and provides the N _{Stay up-pieces} of recovered uplink data symbol streams .. Receiver spatial processing follows channel correlation matrix inversion (CCMI), minimum mean square error (MMSE), soft interference cancellation (SIC), or some other technique. Can be executed. Each restored uplink data symbol stream is an estimate of the data symbol stream transmitted by each user terminal. The RX data processor 242 processes (eg, demodulates, deinterleaves, and decodes) each restored uplink data symbol stream according to the rate used for that stream to obtain the decoded data. .. The decrypted data for each user terminal may be given to the data sink 244 for storage and / or to the controller 230 for further processing.

On the downlink, at the access point 110, the TX data processor 210 _{receives traffic data for N dn} user terminals scheduled for downlink transmission from the data source 208 and from the controller 230. It receives control data and, in some cases, other data from the scheduler 234. Different types of data can be transmitted on different transport channels. The TX data processor 210 processes (eg, encodes, interleaves, and modulates) traffic data for each user terminal based on the rate selected for that user terminal. The TX data processor 210 provides N _dn downlink data symbol streams for _{N dn} user terminals. TX spatial processor 220 performs (such as precoding or beamforming) spatial processing N _dn pieces of for downlink data symbol streams, the N _{Stay up-transmit} symbol streams for the N _{Stay up-antennas} give away. Each transmitter unit 222 receives and processes each transmit symbol stream in order to generate a downlink signal. The N- _up transmitter units 222 may _{provide N-up} downlink signals _{for transmission from the N-up} antennas 224, eg, for transmission to the user terminal 120.

[0044] At each user terminal 120, the _{Nut, m antennas 252 receive N up} downlink signals from the access point 110. Each receiver unit 254 processes the received signal from the associated antenna 252 and provides the received symbol stream. RX spatial processor 260 _{performs receiver spatial processing on Nut, m received symbol streams from Nut, m} receiver units 254 and restores down for user terminal 120. Give a link data symbol stream. Receiver spatial processing can be performed according to CCMI, MMSE, or some other technique. The RX data processor 270 processes the restored downlink data symbol stream (eg, demodulates, deinterleaves, and decodes) to obtain the decoded data for the user terminal.

[0045] At each user terminal 120, the channel estimator 278 estimates the downlink channel response and gives a downlink channel estimate that may include a channel gain estimate, an SNR estimate, noise variance, and the like. Similarly, the channel estimator 228 estimates the uplink channel response and gives an uplink channel estimate. The controller 280 for each user terminal usually derives a spatial filter matrix for the user terminal based on the _{downlink channel response matrix H dn, m for that user terminal.} The controller 230 derives a spatial filter matrix for the access point based on the _{effective uplink channel response matrix H up, eff.} The controller 280 for each user terminal may send feedback information (eg, downlink and / or uplink eigenvectors, eigenvalues, SNR estimates, etc.) to the access point 110. Controller 230 and controller 280 can also control the operation of various processing units at the access point 110 and the user terminal 120, respectively.

[0046] FIG. 3 shows various components that can be used in the wireless device 302 that can be used within the wireless communication system 100. Wireless device 302 is an example of a device that can be configured to perform the various methods described herein. The wireless device 302 may implement an access point 110 or a user terminal 120.

[0047] The wireless device 302 may include a processor 304 that controls the operation of the wireless device 302. The processor 304 is sometimes called a central processing unit (CPU). Memory 306, which may include both read-only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM), provides instructions and data to processor 304. A portion of the memory 306 may also include a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). The processor 304 may execute logical operations and arithmetic operations based on the program instructions stored in the memory 306. The instructions in memory 306 may be executable to implement the methods described herein.

[0048] Processor 304 may include a processing system implemented by one or more processors, or may be a component of that processing system. One or more processors include general purpose microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gate logic, individual hardware components, Dedicated hardware can be implemented by a finite state machine, or any combination of any other suitable entity capable of performing information calculations or other operations.

The processing system may also include a machine-readable medium for storing software. Software should be broadly construed as meaning any type of instruction, whether referred to in software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other terms. The instruction may include code (eg, in source code format, binary code format, executable code format, or any other suitable code format). Instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the processing system to perform the various functions described herein.

[0050] The wireless device 302 may also include a housing 308 that may include a transmitter 310 and a receiver 312 to allow data transmission and reception between the wireless device 302 and a remote location. The transmitter 310 and receiver 312 may be coupled to the transceiver 314. The single or multiple transmitter / receiver antennas 316 may be attached to the housing 308 and electrically coupled to the transmitter / receiver 314. The wireless device 302 may also include a plurality of transmitters, a plurality of receivers, and a plurality of transmitters / receivers (not shown).

The wireless device 302 may also include a signal detector 318 that can be used to detect and quantify the level of the signal received by the transmitter / receiver 314. The signal detector 318 can detect signals such as total energy, energy per subcarrier per symbol, power spectral density, and other signals. The wireless device 302 may also include a digital signal processor (DSP) 320 used to process the signal.

[0052] Various components of the wireless device 302 may be coupled together by a bus system 322, which may include a power bus, a control signal bus, and a status signal bus in addition to the data bus.

[0053] Some aspects of the present disclosure support the transmission of uplink (UL) signals from multiple STAs to APs. In some embodiments, UL signals can be transmitted in a multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) system. Alternatively, the UL signal may be transmitted in a multi-user FDMA (MU-FDMA) system or similar FDMA system. Specifically, FIGS. 4-8 and 10 show UL-MU-MIMO transmission 410A, 410B, 1050A, and 1050B, which are equally applicable to UL-FDMA transmission. In these embodiments, UL-MU-MIMO or UL-FDMA transmissions may be sent simultaneously from multiple STAs to the AP, creating efficiencies in wireless communication.

[0054] The increasing number of wireless and mobile devices puts additional pressure on the bandwidth requirements of wireless communication systems. When communication resources are limited, it is desirable to reduce the amount of traffic passing between the AP and multiple STAs. For example, when multiple terminals send uplink communications to an access point, it is desirable to minimize the amount of traffic to complete all outgoing uplinks. Therefore, the embodiments described herein support the use of communication exchanges, scheduling, and some frames to increase the throughput of uplink transmissions to the AP.

FIG. 4A is a time sequence diagram showing an example of UL-MU-MIMO protocol 400 that can be used for UL communication. As shown in FIG. 4A with FIG. 1, the AP110 clears which STAs can participate in the UL-MU-MIMO scheme so that it knows that a particular STA initiates UL-MU-MIMO. Two-transmit (CTX) message 402 can be transmitted to the user terminal 120. In some embodiments, the CTX message may be transmitted in the payload portion of the Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU). Examples of CTX frame structures are described more fully below with reference to FIGS. 12-15.

[0056] When the user terminal receives the CTX message 402 from the listed AP 110, the user terminal can transmit the UL-MU-MIMO transmission 410. In FIG. 4A, the STA 120A and STA 120B transmit UL-MU-MIMO transmissions 410A and 410B, including the Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU). Upon receiving the UL-MU-MIMO transmission 410, the AP 110 can transmit the block acknowledgment (BA) 470 to the user terminal 120.

[0057] FIG. 4B is a time sequence diagram showing an example of a UL-MU-MIMO protocol that can be used for UL communication. In FIG. 4B, CTX frames are aggregated into one A-MPDU message 407. The aggregated A-MPDU message 407 can give the user terminal 120 time to process before transmitting the UL signal, or send the data to the user terminal 120 before the AP 110 receives the uplink data. It may be possible to send.

[0058] Not all APs or user terminals 120 support UL-MU-MIMO or UL-FDMA operations. The capability indication from the user terminal 120 may be indicated in the high efficiency wireless (HEW) capability element included in the connection request or probe request, with a bit indicating the capability and the space available to the user terminal 120 in the UL-MU-MIMO. The maximum number of streams, the frequencies that the user terminal 120 can use for UL-FDMA transmission, the minimum and maximum power and the granularity of the power backoff, and the minimum and maximum time adjustments that the user terminal 120 can perform. May include.

The capability indication from the AP may be indicated in a HEW capability element contained in an association response, beacon, or probe response, with a bit indicating capability and a single user terminal 120 in UL-MU-MIMO transmission. The maximum number of spatial streams that can be used, the frequencies that a single user terminal 120 can use for UL-FDMA transmission, the required power control particle size, and the needs that the user terminal 120 should be able to perform. It may include the minimum and maximum time adjustments that are made.

[0060] In one embodiment, the capable user terminal 120 sends UL-MU-MIMO (or UL) a management frame indicating a request to enable the use of the UL-MU-MIMO function to the AP. -FDMA) You can request a competent AP to be part of the protocol. In one aspect, AP110 may respond by permitting or rejecting the use of the UL-MU-MIMO function. Once allowed to use UL-MU-MIMO, user terminal 120 can anticipate CTX message 402 at various times. In addition, when the user terminal 120 is enabled (enabled) to operate the UL-MU-MIMO function, the user terminal 120 must obey a certain mode of operation. When a plurality of operation modes are possible, the AP may indicate to the user terminal 120 which mode to use in the HEW capability element, management frame, or operation element. In one aspect, the user terminal 120 can dynamically change the operating mode and parameters during the operation by sending different operating elements to the AP 110. In another aspect, the AP 110 can dynamically switch between modes of operation during operation by sending updated operating elements or management frames to the user terminal 120 or in a beacon. In another aspect, the mode of operation may be indicated in the preparatory stage and may be prepared for each user terminal 120 for a group of user terminals 120. In another aspect, the mode of operation may be specified for each traffic identifier (TID).

[0061] FIG. 5 is a time sequence diagram showing an example of an operation mode of UL-MU-MIMO transmission together with FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the user terminal 120 receives the CTX message 402 from the AP 110 and sends an immediate response to the AP 110. This response can be in the form of a clear to send (CTS) 408 or another similar signal. In one aspect, the requirements for sending a CTS may be indicated in CTX message 402 or in the setup phase of communication. As shown in FIG. 5, the STA 120A and STA 120B can transmit the CTS1 408A message and the CTS2 408B message in response to receiving the CTX message 402. The modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of CTS1 408A and CTS2 408B can be based on the MCS of CTX message 402. In this embodiment, the CTS1 408A and CTS2 408B include the same bits and the same scrambling sequence so that they can be transmitted to the AP110 at the same time. The duration field of the CTS408 signal can be based on the duration field in the CTX by removing the time for the CTX PPDU. UL-MU-MIMO transmissions 410A and 410B are then transmitted by STA 120A and 120B as listed in the signal of CTX402. The AP110 can then send an acknowledgment (ACK) signal to the STAs 120A and 120B. In some embodiments, the ACK signal can be a continuous ACK signal to each station or BA. In some embodiments, the ACK can be polled. This embodiment creates efficiency by transmitting the CTS408 signals from multiple STAs to one AP110 simultaneously rather than sequentially, which saves time and reduces the possibility of interference.

[0062] FIG. 6, together with FIG. 1, is a time sequence diagram showing another example of the operation mode of UL-MU-MIMO transmission. In this embodiment, the user terminals 120A and 120B may receive the CTX message 402 from the AP 110 and start UL-MU-MIMO transmission after a certain time (T) 406 from the end of the PPDU carrying the CTX message 402. Allowed. The T406 is an additional offset, as indicated by the short interframe space (SIFS), the point interframe space (PIFS), or the AP110 in the CTX message 402 or via the management frame. It can be another time that may be adjusted by. SIFS and PIFS times may be fixed in the standard or may be indicated by AP110 in the CTX message 402 or in the management frame. The advantage of the T406 may be to improve synchronization or allow the user terminals 120A and 120B to process the CTX message 402 or other message prior to transmission.

[0063] With reference to FIGS. 4-6 with FIG. 1, the UL-MU-MIMO transmission 410 may have a common duration. The duration of the UL-MU-MIMO transmission 410 to a user terminal utilizing the UL-MU-MIMO function can be indicated in CTX message 402 or during the preparatory stage. To generate a PPDU of the required duration, the user terminal 120 can construct a PLCP service data unit (PSDU) such that the length of the PPDU matches the length indicated in the CTX message 402. .. In another aspect, the user terminal 120 sets the level of data aggregation in the medium access control (MAC) protocol data unit (A-MPDU) or the level of data aggregation in the MAC service data unit (A-MSDU). It can be adjusted to approach the target length. In another aspect, the user terminal 120 can add an end of file (EOF) padding delimiter to reach the target length. Alternatively, the padding field or EOF pad field is added at the beginning of the A-MPDU. One of the advantages of having all UL-MU-MIMO transmissions of the same length is that the power level of the transmission is kept constant.

[0064] In some embodiments, the user terminal 120 may have data to be uploaded to the AP, which indicates that the user terminal 120 may initiate UL-MU-MIMO transmission. Not receiving message 402 or other signals.

[0065] In one mode of operation, user terminal 120 cannot transmit outside the transmission opportunity (TXOP) of UL-MU-MIMO (eg, after CTX message 402). In another mode of operation, the user terminal 120 may transmit frames to initiate UL-MU-MIMO transmission, and then, for example, in CTX message 402 during UL-MU-MIMO TXOP. You can do so if you are instructed to do so. In one embodiment, the frame for initiating UL-MU-MIMO transmission is request-to-transmit (RTX), a frame specially designed for this purpose (examples of the RTX frame structure are FIGS. 8 and 9). Can be more fully described below). The RTX frame may be the only frame that the user terminal 120 is allowed to use to initiate UL MU MIMO TXOP. In one embodiment, the user terminal cannot transmit outside the UL-MU-MIMO TXOP except by sending the RTX. In another embodiment, the frame for initiating UL MU MIMO transmission can be any frame that indicates to AP 110 that the user terminal 120 has data to send. It may be agreed in advance that these frames indicate a UL MU MIMO TXOP request. For example, an RTS, a QoS null or data frame with bits 8-15 of a QoS control frameset to indicate more data, or a PS poll, is the data that the user terminal 120 should send. Can be used to indicate that it has and requires UL MU MIMO TXOP. In one embodiment, the user terminal cannot transmit outside the UL MU MIMO TXOP except by sending a frame to trigger this TXOP, where the frame can be RTS, PS pole, or QoS null. .. In another embodiment, the user terminal can send a single user uplink data as usual and indicate a request for UL MU MIMO TXOP by setting a bit in the QoS control frame of the data packet. Can be done. FIG. 7 is a time sequence diagram showing an example in which the frame for starting UL-MU-MIMO is RTX701 together with FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the user terminal 120 sends an RTX 701 containing information about UL-MU-MIMO transmission to the AP 110. As shown in FIG. 7, AP110 can respond to RTX701 by CTX message 402 acknowledging UL-MU-MIMO TXOP to send UL-MU-MIMO transmission 410 immediately after CTX message 402. .. In another aspect, the AP110 can respond by a CTS that recognizes a single user (SU) UL TXOP. In another aspect, the AP110 can be acknowledged by an acknowledgment upon receipt of the RTX701 but not by a frame that does not allow immediate UL-MU-MIMO TXOP (eg, ACK or CTX with special instructions). In another aspect, the AP110 acknowledges and responds to the reception of RTX701 and does not recognize immediate UL-MU-MIMO TXOP, but recognizes delayed UL-MU-MIMO TXOP, which can respond by frame and of TXOP. It can be identified that time is allowed. In this embodiment, the AP 110 can send a CTX message 402 to initiate UL-MU-MIMO at the recognized time.

[0066] In another aspect, the AP 110 does not allow UL-MU-MIMO transmission to the user terminal 120, but a certain amount of time (T) before the user terminal 120 attempts another transmission (eg, sending another RTX). ) Can respond to RTX701 with an ACK or other response signal indicating that it should wait. In this aspect, time (T) can be indicated by AP110 in the preparatory stage or in the response signal. In another aspect, the AP 110 and the user terminal 120 may agree on the time at which the user terminal 120 may transmit any other request for the RTX701, RTS, PS pole, or UL-MU-MIMO TXOP.

[0067] In another mode of operation, the user terminal 120 can transmit a request for UL-MU-MIMO transmission 410 according to a normal contention protocol. In another aspect, the contention parameters for the user terminal 120 using the UL-MU-MIMO are set to different values than those for other user terminals not using the UL-MU-MIMO function. In this embodiment, the AP 110 may indicate the value of the contention parameter in the beacon, in the association response, or through the management frame. In another aspect, the AP 110 is transmitted by the user terminal 120 for a length of time after each successful UL-MU-MIMO TXOP or after each RTX, RTS, PS pole, or QoS null frame. May provide a delay timer to prevent. This timer can be restarted after each successful UL-MU-MIMO TXOP. In one aspect, the AP 110 may indicate a delay timer to the user terminal 120 in the preparatory stage, or the delay timer may be different for each user terminal 120. In another aspect, the AP 110 may indicate a delay timer in the CTX message 402, or the delay timer may depend on the order of the user terminals 120 in the CTX message 402 and may be different for each terminal.

[0068] In another mode of operation, the AP 110 may indicate a time interval during which the user terminal 120 is allowed to transmit UL-MU-MIMO transmissions. In one aspect, the AP 110 indicates to the user terminal 120 the time interval at which the user terminal is allowed to send an RTX or RTS or other request to the AP 110 to request UL-MU-MIMO transmission. In this aspect, the user terminal 120 can use a conventional contention protocol. In another aspect, the user terminal cannot initiate UL-MU-MIMO transmission at that time interval, but the AP110 can send a CTX or other message to the user terminal to initiate UL-MU-MIMO transmission.

[0069] In some embodiments, the user terminal 120 with UL-MU-MIMO enabled has pending data for the UL and therefore requests AP110 to request UL-MU-MIMO TXOP. Can be shown. In one aspect, the user terminal 120 can send an RTS or PS pole to request UL-MU-MIMO TXOP. In another embodiment, the user terminal 120 can send any data frame, including a quality of service (QoS) null data frame, and bits 8-15 of the QoS control field indicate a non-empty queue. In this embodiment, the user terminal 120 transmits UL-MU-MIMO which data frame (eg, RTS, PS pole, QoS null, etc.) when bits 8-15 of the QoS control field indicate a non-empty queue. Whether to cause it can be decided during the preparatory stage. In one embodiment, the RTS, PS pole, or QoS null frame may include a 1-bit instruction that allows or disallows AP110 from responding with CTX message 402. In another embodiment, QoS null frames may include TX power information and queue information for each TID. TX power information and queue information per TID may be inserted into 2-byte sequence control and QoS control fields in QoS null frames, and modified QoS null frames to request UL-MU-MIMO TXOP. Can be sent to AP110. In another embodiment, referring to FIGS. 1 and 7, user terminal 120 can send RTX701 to request UL-MU-MIMO TXOP.

[0070] The AP110 may send a CTX message 402 in response to receiving an RTS, RTX, PS pole, or QoS null frame, or other trigger frame as described above. In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 7, after the transmission of the CTX message 402 and the completion of the UL-MU-MIMO transmissions 410A and 410B, the TXOP may determine how to use the remaining TXOP. Return to STA 120A and 120B that can be done. In another embodiment, referring to FIG. 7, after the transmission of the CTX message 402 and the completion of the UL-MU-MIMO transmissions 410A and 410B, the TXOP remains at the AP110 and the AP110 attaches another CTX message 402 to the STA120A. The remaining TXOP can be used for additional UL-MU-MIMO transmission by sending to any or other STA of 120B.

FIG. 8 is a message timing diagram of an embodiment of multi-user uplink communication. The message exchange 800 indicates communication of a wireless message between the AP 110 and the three stations 120a to 120a. The message exchange 800 indicates that each of the STAs 120a to c sends a request-to-transmit (RTX) message 802a to c to the AP110. Each of the RTX messages 802a-c indicates that the transmitting stations 120a-c have data that can be transmitted to the AP110.

[0072] After receiving each of the RTX messages 802a-c, the AP 110 can respond with a message indicating that the AP 110 has received the RTX. As shown in FIG. 8, the AP110 transmits ACK messages 803a-c in response to each RTX message 802a-c. In some embodiments, the AP 110 indicates that each of the RTX messages 802a-c has been received but the AP 110 does not allow transmission opportunities for the stations 120a-c to the uplink data (eg, a message (eg,). , CTX message) can be transmitted. In FIG. 8, after sending the ACK message 803c, the AP 110 sends the CTX message 804. In some embodiments, the CTX message 804 is transmitted to at least stations STA120a-c. In some embodiments, the CTX message 804 is broadcast. In some embodiments, the CTX message 804 indicates which station is authorized to transmit data to the AP 110 during the transmission opportunity. The start time and duration of the transmission opportunity may be indicated in the CTX message 804 in some embodiments. For example, the CTX message 804 may indicate that the network allocation vector should be set so that the stations STA120a-c match the NAV812.

[0073] At the time indicated by the CTX message 804, the three stations 120a-c transmit data 806a-c to the AP110. Data 806a-c are transmitted at least partially simultaneously during the transmission opportunity. For the transmission of data 806a to c, uplink multi-user multi-input, multi-output transmission (UL-MU-MIMO) or uplink frequency division multiple access (UL-FDMA) can be used.

[0074] In some embodiments, stations STAa-c may transmit pad data such that transmissions of each station transmitted during a transmission opportunity have approximately equal duration. The message exchange 800 indicates that the STA 120a transmits the pad data 808a and the STA 120c transmits the pad data 808c. The transmission of pad data ensures that transmissions from each of the STAs 120a-c are completed at about the same time. This can achieve a more even transmission power over the duration of the transmission and optimize the efficiency of the AP110 receiver.

[0075] After the AP 110 receives the data transmissions 806a-c, the AP 110 transmits an acknowledgment 810a-c to each of the stations 120a-c. In some embodiments, acknowledgments 810a-c can be transmitted at least partially simultaneously using either DL-MU-MIMO or DL-FDMA.

[0076] FIG. 9 is a diagram of an embodiment of the RTX frame 900. The RTX frame 900 includes a frame control (FC) field 910, a duration field 915 (optional), a transmitter address (TA) / allocation identifier (AID) field 920, and a receiver address (RA) / basic service set identifier. It includes a (BSSID) field 925, a TID field 930, an estimated transmit (TX) time field 950, and a TX power field 970. FC field 910 indicates a control subtype or an extended subtype. The duration field 915 indicates that the network allocation vector (NAV) is set for any receiver of RTX frame 900. In one aspect, the RTX frame 900 may not have a duration field 915. The TA / AID field 920 indicates a source address that can be an AID or a full MAC address. The RA / BSSID field 925 indicates the RA or BSSID of the STA to transmit the uplink data simultaneously. In one aspect, the RTX frame may not include the RA / BSSID field 925. The TID field 930 indicates an access category (AC) in which the user has data about it. The estimated TX time field 950 indicates the time required for UL-TXOP, which is the time required for the user terminal 120 to send all the data in the buffer in the currently planned MCS. obtain. The TX power field 970 indicates the power at which the frame is being transmitted and can be used by the AP to estimate the link quality and adapt the power backoff instructions in the CTX frame.

[0077] In some embodiments, the AP 110 can collect information from a user terminal 120 that may participate in the UL-MU-MIMO communication before the UL-MU-MIMO communication can occur. The AP 110 can optimize the collection of information from the user terminal 120 by scheduling the transmission from the user terminal 120.

As discussed above, the CTX message 402 can be used in a variety of communications. FIG. 10 is a diagram of an example of the structure of the CTX frame 1000. In this embodiment, the CTX frame 1000 comprises a frame control (FC) field 1005, a duration field 1010, a transmitter address (TA) field 1015, a control (CTRL) field 1020, and a PPDU duration field 1025. A control frame that includes a STA information (info) field 1030 and a frame check sequence (FCS) field 1080. FC field 1005 indicates a control subtype or an extended subtype. The duration field 1010 indicates that the network allocation vector (NAV) is set for any receiver of CTX frame 1000. The TA field 1015 indicates a transmitter address or BSSID. The CTRL field 1020 formats the rest of the frame (eg, the number of STA information fields and the presence or absence of any subfields within the STA information fields), as well as instructions and permissions for rate matching to the user terminal 100. It is a general field that may include instructions for the TID to be made and instructions that the CTS should be sent immediately after the CTX frame 1000. The instructions for rate matching may include data rate information, such as a number indicating how much the STA should lower the MCS compared to the MCS that the STA would use in a single user transmission. The CTRL field 1020 also indicates whether the CTX frame 1000 is used for UL MU MIMO, UL FDMA, or both, and the Nss or tone allocation field ( It can indicate whether the Tone allocation field) exists in the STA information field 1030.

[0079] Alternatively, the indication of whether the CTX is for UL MU MIMO or UL FDMA can be based on the value of the subtype. The operations of UL MU MIMO and UL FDMA may be performed together by specifying both the spatial stream to be used and the channel to be used to the STA, in which case both fields are in the CTX. Note that in this case the Nss instruction is called the allocation of a particular tone. The PPDU duration 1025 field indicates the duration of subsequent UL-MU-MIMO PPDUs that the user terminal 120 is allowed to send. The STA information 1030 field contains information about a particular STA and may include a set of information per STA (per user terminal 120) (see STA Information 1 1030 and STA Information N 1075). The STA information 1030 field includes an AID or MAC address field 1032 that identifies the STA, and a number of spatial streams field (Nss) field 1034 that indicates the number of spatial streams that the STA can use (in the UL-MU-MIMO system). , A time-adjusted 1036 field indicating how long the STA should adjust the transmission compared to the reception of the trigger frame (CTX in this case), and the power to be done for the transmitted power that the STA has declared. A power adjustment 1038 field indicating backoff, a tone allocation 1040 field indicating a tone or frequency that the STA can use (in the UL-FDMA system), a permitted TID1042 field indicating an acceptable TID, and a permitted TX. It may include an allowed TX mode 1044 field indicating the mode, an MCS 1046 field indicating the MCS to be used by the STA, and a TX start time field 1048 indicating the start time for the STA to transmit uplink data. In some embodiments, the allowed TX modes are short / long guard interval (GI) or cyclic prefix mode, binary convolutional code (BCC) / low density parity check (LDPC). It may include a mode (generally a coding mode) or a space-time block coding (STBC) mode.

[0080] In some embodiments, the STA information fields 1030-1075 may be excluded from the CTX frame 1000. In these embodiments, the CTX frame 1000 with the missing STA information field receives a request message for uplink data (eg, RTS, RTX, or QoS null) at the user terminal 120 that receives the CTX frame 1000. It can be shown that it is, but the transmission opportunity is not recognized. In some embodiments, the control field 1020 may include information about the required uplink. For example, the control field 1020 may include a wait time before sending data or another request, a reason code for why the request was not granted, or other parameters for controlling media access from the user terminal 120. .. CTX frames with missing STA information fields can also be applied to CTX frames 1100, 1200, and 1300 described below.

[0081] In some embodiments, the user terminal 120 that receives the CTX with the permitted TID 1042 instructions has only that TID data, the same or higher TID data, the same or lower TID data, optionally. Data may be allowed to be transmitted, or only the data of that TID may be sent first, and data of another TID may be allowed to be sent if no data is available. The FCS1080 field indicates that it carries the value of the FCS used for error detection in the CTX frame 1000.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of another example of the structure of the CTX frame 1100. In this embodiment with FIG. 10, the STA information 1030 field does not include an AID or MAC address 1032 field, instead the CTX frame 1000 is a STA for simultaneously transmitting uplink data by group identifier rather than by individual identifier. Includes a group identifier (GID) 1026 field that identifies. FIG. 12 is a diagram of another example of the structure of the CTX frame 1200. In this embodiment, along with FIG. 11, the GID1026 field is replaced with the RA1014 field, which identifies a group of STAs through a multicast MAC address.

[0083] FIG. 13 is a diagram of an example of the structure of the CTX frame 1300. In this embodiment, the CTX frame 1300 is a management frame that includes a management MAC header 1305 field, a body 1310 field, and an FCS 1380 field. The body 1310 field is allowed to be sent by an IE ID 1315 field that identifies an information element (IE), a MIMO field that indicates the length of the CTX frame 1300, a MIMO field that contains the same information as the CTRL1020 field, and a user terminal 120. A PPDU duration 1330 field indicating the duration of a subsequent UL-MU-MIMO PPDU, a STA information 1 1335 field, and an MCS or subsequent MCS for all STAs for use in subsequent UL-MU-MIMO transmissions. Includes an MCS1375 field that may indicate MCS backoff for all STAs for use in UL-MU-MIMO transmission. The STA Information 1 1335 field (along with the STA Information N 1370) is an AID 1340 field that identifies the STA and a number of spatial streams (Nss) field that indicates the number of spatial streams that the STA can use (in the UL-MU-MIMO system). It should be done for the 1342 field, the time adjustment 1344 field indicating the time when the STA should adjust the transmission time compared to the reception of the trigger frame (CTX in this case), and the transmission power published by the STA. The STA is up, with a power adjustment 1348 field indicating power backoff, a tone allocation 1348 field indicating the tone or frequency that the STA can use (in the UL-FDMA system), and an allowed TID1350 field indicating an acceptable TID. Represents a field per STA, including a TX start time field 1048 indicating a start time for transmitting link data.

[0084] In one embodiment, the CTX frame 1000 or CTX frame 1300 may be aggregated into one A-MPDU to give the user terminal 120 time to process before transmitting the UL signal. In this embodiment, padding or data may be added after the CTX to allow the user terminal 120 additional time to process upcoming packets. One advantage of padding CTX frames is the possible contention for UL signals from other user terminals 120 compared to increasing the interframe space (IFS) as described above. The problem can be avoided. In one aspect, if the CTX is a management frame, additional padding information elements (IE) may be sent. In one aspect, if the CTX is aggregated into one A-MPDU, additional A-MPDU padding delimiters may be included. The padding delimiter can be an EoF delimiter (4 bytes) or another padding delimiter. In another aspect, padding can be achieved by adding data, control or control MPDPUs unless they are required to be processed within the IFS response time. The MPDU may include instructions indicating to the receiver that an immediate response is not required and that it will not be required by any of the subsequent MPDUs. In another aspect, the user terminal 120 may require the AP 110 to have a minimum duration or padding for the CTX frame. In another embodiment, the padding requires that the PHY OFDMA symbols, which may contain undefined bits that do not carry information or contain a bit sequence that carries information, be processed within the IFS time. Unless not, it can be achieved by adding.

[0085] In some embodiments, the AP110 can initiate CTX transmission. In one embodiment, the AP 110 can send a CTX message 402 according to a normal enhanced distribution channel access (EDCA) contention protocol. In another embodiment, the AP 110 can send a CTX message 402 at a scheduled time. In this embodiment, the scheduled time is an indication of a restricted access window (RAW) in a beacon indicating the time reserved for a group of user terminals 120 to access the medium, UL-. Agreement of target wake time (TWT) with each user terminal 120 indicating to multiple user terminals 120 to wake up at the same time to participate in MU-MIMO transmission, or in other fields. By using the information, it can be indicated to the user terminal 120 by the AP 110. Outside the RAW and TWT, the user terminal 102 may be allowed to transmit any frame, or only a subset of frames (eg, non-data frames). Sending a frame can also be prohibited (for example, sending a data frame can be prohibited). The user terminal 120 may also indicate that the user terminal 120 is in a sleep state. One advantage over scheduling CTX is that multiple user terminals 120 can be shown one and the same TWT or RAW time and can receive transmissions from the AP 110.

[0086] FIG. 14 is a flow chart of an exemplary method 1400 for wireless communication, according to some embodiments described herein. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that Method 1400 can be implemented by any suitable device and system.

[0087] In operation block 1405, method 1400 comprises transmitting a clear-to-transmit (CTX) message to two or more stations, the CTX message indicating an uplink transmission opportunity, and the CTX message further. The two or more stations are required to transmit uplink data simultaneously at a specific time. In operation block 1410, method 1400 further comprises receiving a plurality of uplink data from at least two stations at that particular time.

[0088] In some embodiments, the device for wireless communication can perform some of the functions of Method 1400. The device comprises means for transmitting a clear-to-transmit (CTX) message to two or more stations, the CTX message indicating an uplink transmission opportunity, and the CTX message is further provided by the two or more stations. It has a requirement to transmit uplink data at the same time at a specific time. The device may further include means for receiving multiple uplink data from at least two stations at that particular time.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals can be represented using any of a wide variety of techniques and techniques. For example, data, commands, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that can be mentioned throughout the above description are voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optics. It can be represented by particles, or any combination thereof.

Various modifications to the implementations described herein may be readily apparent to those of skill in the art, and the comprehensive principles defined herein deviate from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. It can also be applied to other implementations without the need for it. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not limited to the implementations presented herein, but is given the broadest scope that is consistent with the claims, principles and novel features disclosed herein. Should be. The word "exemplary" is used herein exclusively to mean "act as an example, case, or example." Any implementation described herein as "exemplary" should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations.

The particular features described herein in the context of separate implementations may also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, the various features described in the context of a single implementation can be implemented separately in multiple implementations or in any suitable partial combination. Moreover, features are described above as working in a combination and may even be claimed as such in the beginning, but one or more features from the claimed combination may possibly be from that combination. The combinations that may be deleted and claimed may be subject to partial combinations or variants of partial combinations.

The various operations of the methods described above are performed by any suitable means capable of performing the operations, such as various hardware and / or software components, circuits, and / or modules. Can be executed. In general, any action shown in the figure can be performed by the corresponding functional means capable of performing that action.

The various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described with respect to the present disclosure are general purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate array signals (FPGAs). Alternatively, it may be implemented or implemented by other programmable logic devices (PLDs), individual gate or transistor logic, individual hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. .. The general purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but instead, the processor can be any commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. Processors are also implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of DSP and microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors working with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. obtain.

[0094] In one or more aspects, the functionality described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the function may be stored on or transmitted on a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one location to another. The storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. As an example, but not limited to, such computer-readable media can be RAM, ROM, EEPROM®, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device, or instruction or data structure. It may include any other medium that can be used to transport or store the desired program code of the form and can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, using coaxial cables, fiber optic cables, twisted pairs, digital subscriber lines (“DSL”), or wireless technologies such as infrared, wireless, and microwave, the software sends from websites, servers, or other remote sources. Where so, wireless technologies such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or infrared, wireless, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. The discs and discs used herein are compact discs (CDs), laser discs (registered trademarks) (discs), optical discs, and digital versatile discs (discs). DVDs), floppy (registered trademark) discs (disks), and Blu-ray (registered trademark) discs (discs), which usually play data magnetically, and discs which play data. Optically regenerated with a laser. Thus, in some embodiments, the computer-readable medium may comprise a non-transitory computer-readable medium (eg, a tangible medium). Moreover, in some embodiments, the computer-readable medium may comprise a temporary computer-readable medium (eg, a signal). The above combinations should also be included within the scope of computer readable media.

[0095] The methods disclosed herein include one or more steps or actions to achieve the methods described. The steps and / or actions of the method can be exchanged with each other without departing from the claims. In other words, unless a particular order of steps or actions is specified, the order and / or use of a particular step and / or action may be modified without departing from the claims.

[0096] In addition, modules and / or other suitable means for performing the methods and techniques described herein may be downloaded and / or otherwise by the user terminal and / or base station, where applicable. Please understand that it can be obtained by the method of. For example, such a device may be coupled to a server to facilitate the transfer of means for performing the methods described herein. Alternatively, the various methods described herein allow storage means (eg, for example) so that user terminals and / or base stations can obtain different methods when they combine or provide storage means to the device. , RAM, ROM, physical storage media such as compact discs (CDs) or floppy disks). Moreover, any other suitable technique may be utilized to provide the device with the methods and techniques described herein.

[0097] Although the above is directed to aspects of the present disclosure, other and further aspects of the present disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope of the present disclosure, the scope of the present disclosure being: Determined by the scope of claims.
The inventions described in the claims at the time of filing the application of the present application are described below.
[C1] A device for wireless communication,
A transmitter configured to transmit a clear-to-transmit (CTX) message to two or more stations, the CTX message indicates an uplink transmission opportunity, and the CTX message further indicates uplink data at a specific time. With a request for the two or more stations to transmit at the same time
A receiver configured to receive multiple uplink data transmissions at the particular time from at least two of the two or more stations.
A device that comprises.
[C2] The device according to C1, wherein the uplink transmission opportunity has a common duration for each of the plurality of uplink data transmissions.
[C3] The device of C1, wherein the particular time is communicated based on a short interframe space (SIFS) or point interframe space (PIFS) time after the end of the transmission of the message.
[C4] The receiver further has a plurality of clear-to-sends (CTS) having a common scrambling sequence after the end of the transmission of the CTX message and before the reception of the plurality of uplink data. ) The device according to C1, configured to receive a message.
[C5] The device of C1, wherein the CTX message comprises a physical layer data unit (PPDU) duration field indicating the duration of the transmission of the uplink data.
[C6] The device of C1, wherein the CTX message comprises one or more station (STA) information fields for a particular station.
[C7] The device of C6, wherein the station (STA) information field comprises an indication of a permitted transmission mode.
[C8] The indications for permitted transmit modes are short / long guard interval (GI) or cyclic prefix mode, binary convolutional code (BCC) / low density parity check (LDPC) mode, and space-time block coding (STBC). The device according to C7, comprising one or more of the modes.
[C9] The station (STA) information field uses a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) system and / or an orthogonal FDMA system to provide a tone allocation field indicating the tone and / or frequency for transmission of uplink data. The device according to C6.
[C10] The apparatus according to C6, wherein the station (STA) information field includes a transmission start time field indicating a start time for transmitting uplink data.
[C11] The station (STA) information field may include one or more of an address identifier field, the number and index of spatial streams, a time adjustment field, a power adjustment field, an allowed traffic identifier field, and a modulation and coding method field. The device according to C6.
[C12] The device according to C1, wherein the CTX message comprises a group identifier (GID) field indicating the two or more stations as a group of stations in order to simultaneously transmit uplink data at the particular time.
[C13] The CTX message comprises a receiver address (RA) field indicating a unicast or multicast address that identifies the two or more stations in order to simultaneously transmit uplink data at the particular time in C1. The device described.
[C14] The device according to C1, wherein the CTX message comprises a field indicating data rate information of the two or more stations as a group of stations to simultaneously transmit uplink data at the particular time.
[C15] The device of C1, wherein the CTX message comprises one or more of a frame control field, a transmitter address field, a duration field, and a basic service set identifier (BSSID) field.
[C16] The device according to C1, wherein the CTX message comprises a management frame or a control frame.
[C17] The device according to C1, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive a request for transmission of uplink data from the two or more stations.
[C18] The request for transmitting uplink data comprises a request-to-send (RTS) message, a request-to-transmit (RTX) message, a power saving (PS) pole message, or a quality of service (QoS) null message. , C17.
[C19] The transmitter is further configured to transmit a second CTX message in response to the request for transmission of uplink data, the second CTX message being the request for transmission of uplink data. C17, wherein the device has been received, but does not include the indication of the uplink transmission opportunity.
[C20] The device according to C1, wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit the CTX message aggregated with a second message.
[C21] A method for wireless communication,
Sending a clear-to-transmit (CTX) message to two or more stations, said the CTX message indicates an uplink transmission opportunity, and said CTX message further for transmitting uplink data simultaneously at a specific time. With requirements for the two or more stations mentioned above
Receiving multiple uplink data transmissions from at least two of the two or more stations at the particular time.
A method.
[C22] The CTX message comprises a receiver address (RA) field indicating a unicast or multicast address that identifies the two or more stations in order to simultaneously transmit uplink data at the particular time. The method of C21, wherein the message further comprises a station (STA) information field.
[C23] The station (STA) information field may be one or more of an address identifier field, a number of spatial streams field, a time adjustment field, a power adjustment field, an allowed traffic identifier field, and a modulation and coding method field. 21.
[C24] The method of C21, further comprising transmitting the CTX message aggregated with a second message.
[C25] A device for wireless communication,
Means for transmitting a clear-to-transmit (CTX) message to two or more stations, the CTX message indicates an uplink transmission opportunity, and the CTX message further transmits uplink data simultaneously at a specific time. With the requirements for the two or more stations mentioned above
A means for receiving a plurality of uplink data transmissions at the specific time from at least two stations of the two or more stations.
A device that comprises.
[C26] The CTX message comprises a physical layer data unit (PPDU) duration field indicating the duration of the uplink data, and the CTX message is further intended to simultaneously transmit the uplink data at the particular time. The device according to C25, comprising a receiver address (RA) field indicating a unicast or multicast address that identifies the two or more stations.
[C27] The CTX message includes an address identifier field, a number of spatial streams field, a time adjustment field, a power adjustment field, an allowed traffic identifier field, a modulation and coding method field, an indication of an allowed transmission mode, and tone allocation. The device according to C25, comprising a station (STA) information field comprising one or more of the fields.
[C28] When executed, the processor
The clear-to-transmit (CTX) message is transmitted to two or more stations, the CTX message indicates an uplink transmission opportunity, and the CTX message further transmits uplink data simultaneously at a specific time. With requirements for more than one station
Receive multiple uplink data transmissions from at least two of the two or more stations at the particular time.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium with instructions to execute the method.
[C29] The method further comprises a plurality of clear-to-send (CTS) having a common scrambling sequence after the end of the transmission of the CTX message and before the reception of the plurality of uplink data. The medium according to C28, comprising receiving a message.
[C30] The medium according to C28, wherein transmitting the CTX message comprises transmitting the CTX message in response to a request for transmission of uplink data.

Claims (28)

A device for wireless communication
A receiver configured to receive a trigger frame from an access point, said the trigger frame is transmitted to two or more stations and indicates an uplink transmission opportunity, and said trigger frame is the Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP). It comprises a protocol data unit (PPDU) duration field and a request from the two or more stations to simultaneously transmit uplink data at a particular point in time, wherein the PPDU duration field is the duration of the PPDU. Show only time,
A transmitter configured to transmit uplink data to the access point at the same time that another one of the two or more stations transmits uplink data to the access point. ,
Bei to give a,
The trigger frame comprises a field indicating data rate information for the two or more stations in order to simultaneously transmit uplink data at the particular time point . The device of claim 1, wherein the uplink transmission opportunity has a common duration for each transmission of the uplink data. The device of claim 1, wherein the particular time point is communicated based on a short interframe space (SIFS) or point interframe space (PIFS) time after the end of the reception of the trigger frame. The transmitter is further configured to transmit a clear-to-send (CTS) message with a scrambling sequence after receiving the trigger frame and before the transmission of the uplink data. The device of claim 1, wherein the ring sequence is the same clear-to-send (CTS) message scrambling sequence transmitted by the other one of the two or more stations. The device of claim 1, wherein the trigger frame comprises one or more station (STA) information fields for a particular station. The device of claim 5, wherein the one or more station (STA) information fields comprises indications of permitted transmission modes. The indications of the permitted transmit modes are short / long guard interval (GI) or cyclic prefix mode, binary convolutional code (BCC) / low density parity check (LDPC) mode, and space-time block coding (STBC) mode. The device according to claim 6, comprising one or more of the above. The one or more station (STA) information fields use a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) system and / or an orthogonal FDMA system to indicate the tone and / or frequency for transmission of uplink data. The device of claim 5, comprising a field. The device according to claim 5, wherein the one or more station (STA) information fields include a transmission start time field indicating a start time for transmitting uplink data. The one or more station (STA) information fields may be an address identifier field, the number and index of spatial streams, a time adjustment field, a power adjustment field, an allowed traffic identifier field, and one or more of the modulation and coding method fields. The device according to claim 5, further comprising a plurality of devices. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the trigger frame includes a group identifier (GID) field indicating the two or more stations as a group of stations in order to simultaneously transmit uplink data at the specific time point. The first aspect of the invention, wherein the trigger frame includes a receiver address (RA) field indicating a unicast or multicast address that identifies the two or more stations in order to simultaneously transmit uplink data at the particular time point. Equipment. The device of claim 1, wherein the trigger frame comprises one or more of a frame control field, a transmitter address field, and a basic service set identifier (BSSID) field. The device according to claim 1, wherein the trigger frame includes a management frame or a control frame. The device of claim 1, wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit a request for transmitting uplink data to the access point. Claim that the request for transmitting uplink data comprises a request-to-send (RTS) message, a request-to-transmit (RTX) message, a power saving (PS) pole message, or a quality of service (QoS) null message. 15. The apparatus according to 15. Wherein the receiver is further responsive to said request for transmission of the uplink data, the request for transmission of the uplink data is configured to transmit a message indicating that it has been received, in claim 15 The device described. The device of claim 1, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive the trigger frame, wherein the trigger frame has padding data. It ’s a method for wireless communication,
Receiving a trigger frame from an access point and transmitting the trigger frame to two or more stations and indicating an uplink transmission opportunity, the trigger frame is a Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU). It comprises a duration field and a request from the two or more stations to simultaneously transmit uplink data at a particular point in time, wherein the PPDU duration field indicates only the duration of the PPDU.
At the same time that another one of the two or more stations transmits the uplink data to the access point, the uplink data is transmitted to the access point at the specific time point.
Bei to give a,
A method, wherein the trigger frame comprises a field indicating data rate information for the two or more stations in order to simultaneously transmit uplink data at the particular time point . The trigger frame further comprises a receiver address (RA) field indicating a unicast or multicast address that identifies the two or more stations to simultaneously transmit uplink data at the particular time point. 19. The method of claim 19, comprising one or more station (STA) information fields. The trigger frame further comprises one or more station (STA) information fields.
The one or more station (STA) information fields are one of an address identifier field, a number of spatial streams field, a time adjustment field, a power adjustment field, an allowed traffic identifier field, and a modulation and coding method field. 19. The method of claim 19, comprising a plurality. 19. The method of claim 19 , further comprising receiving the trigger frame, wherein the trigger frame has padding data. A device for wireless communication
Means for receiving a trigger frame from an access point, said the trigger frame is transmitted to two or more stations and indicates an uplink transmission opportunity, and the trigger frame is a Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU). ) A duration field and a request from the two or more stations to simultaneously transmit uplink data at a particular point in time, wherein the PPDU duration field indicates only the duration of the PPDU.
A means for transmitting the uplink data to the access point at the same time as another one of the two or more stations transmitting the uplink data to the access point.
Bei to give a,
The trigger frame comprises a field indicating data rate information for the two or more stations in order to simultaneously transmit uplink data at the particular time point . The duration field indicates the duration of the uplink data, and the trigger frame is further unicast or unicast to identify the two or more stations to simultaneously transmit the uplink data at the particular time point. 23. The apparatus of claim 23, comprising a receiver address (RA) field indicating a multicast address. The trigger frame is among the address identifier field, the number of spatial streams field, the time adjustment field, the power adjustment field, the permitted traffic identifier field, the modulation and coding method field, the indication of the permitted transmission mode, and the tone allocation field. 23. The apparatus of claim 23, comprising one or more station (STA) information fields. When executed, the processor
The trigger frame is received from the access point, the trigger frame is transmitted to two or more stations and indicates an uplink transmission opportunity, and the trigger frame is a physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) duration field. And a request from the two or more stations to transmit uplink data at the same time at a specific time point, wherein the PPDU duration field indicates only the duration of the PPDU.
At the same time that another one of the two or more stations transmits the uplink data to the access point, the uplink data is transmitted to the access point at the specific time point.
Memorize the instructions to execute the method,
The trigger frame is a computer-readable storage medium comprising a field indicating data rate information for the two or more stations in order to simultaneously transmit uplink data at the particular time point. The method further after receiving the trigger frame, and before the time of the transmission of the uplink data comprises transmitting a Clear to Send (CTS) message having a scrambling sequence, to claim 26 The described storage medium. 26. The storage medium of claim 26, wherein receiving the trigger frame comprises receiving the trigger frame in response to a request to transmit uplink data.

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